‘Is this how Root, Virat and Rohit score runs?’: Salman Butt slams Pakistan’s strike rate mafia

Salman Butt has hit out at Pakistan’s cricket experts after they urged the players to play aggressively and with positive intent in Test cricket. He said those who focus too much on strike rate in red-ball cricket are illiterate in cricket.

The former Pakistan captain was commenting after Shan Masood’s team’s defeat in the Test series against Bangladesh. He felt that the success rates are irrelevant as the team is losing the match in four days.

He gave the examples of Joe Root, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to emphasise that batting average is not the only criterion to judge a batsman in five-day matches.

“Pakistan’s strike rate mafia and intent mafia are cricket illiterates. They have no idea how the Test format is played. Pakistan loses in four days and comes back to play the matches. They played only 46 overs. There is no point in rushing things. The job of the batters is to bat long,” said Salman Butt.

“Do top performers hit like highlights? Do the likes of Joe Root, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma score runs like this?”

He expressed his concern over Pakistan’s recent displays. Butt hoped that Pakistani players would not make a habit of losing matches.

“Statements like a wake-up call for the team or alarm bells for Pakistan are irrelevant. I hope these players don’t make a habit of always ending up on the losing side.”

Bangladesh won the first Test by 10 wickets and secured a victory in the second by 6 wickets.

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